Hands
by yarnwithpictures
Summary: EddxMarie Double Dee and Marie get really close in this story. Go look at najjaporterart's tumblr page if you want a visual. This is my first actual post on this website, and the first story I've put on the internet with the hope of someone reading it. So, if you're in the mood for something kinda cute, read this. Well, I tried to make it cute. Updates are whenever.


Inspired by: najjaporterart on tumblr. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or the show they're from: Ed, Edd, n Eddy.

Hands

Edd was sitting in the forest, under an old tree, reading. It was summer and the shade the big tree provided to combat the heat was perfect. Ed and Eddy were off somewhere else, messing around in the junkyard or something, Edd didn't really care. He had made some excuse about needing to study and left earlier that morning to get some alone time. He could have told the truth, and didn't make lying a habit, but he felt that if he had, his friends would have talked him out of it. Eddy had a knack for talking him into his schemes, which Edd was sort of proud of, but he had learned how to avoid it, and the increasingly outrageous things he was asked to do. Edd would talk quickly, ignoring anything Eddy said, as well as Ed's protests, and get away as quickly as possible. It worked most of the time, like it had worked today. Edd made sure to tell them nothing about where he was going, so he didn't have to worry about being found. He had a stack of books labeled with titles like 'Human Biology' and such, bumping against his knee as it bounced. He tutted, annoyed at the sound, and made to move the books, closing one whose cover read 'Biomechanics'.

_Snap._ A twig broke somewhere nearby, the sound sticking out against the others he had listened to as he read. There was a tingle on the back of his neck as the hair there raised to a point. Edd scratched at it, looking around nervously, abandoning his position on his haunches and getting up on his knees. He was seemingly alone. No one was around but him. The cries of other kids as they watched something exciting happen drifted up from the cul-de-sac. Probably Kevin and his bike. A spike of anxiety drove through Edd's stomach at the thought of the bully. _No, no. I'm not in danger. _ He pushed the spike away, and the intrusive feeling that had made him sit up in the first place. A gentle breeze shifted the leaves on their branches, rustling them against each other, making them whisper. The forest seemed to be napping.

"Probably just imagined it," he said quietly to himself, still on edge, before leaning back to sit on his ankles.

Hands slipped under his arms and _slapped_ onto his chest, pulling him back.

"BWAAAH!" he nearly jumped out of his skin, twisting around to see who it was, stuttering, "Wh-who, what-?"

Blue fringe flopped onto his lanky shoulder, making him jump at the contact. "Hey, Double Dee." Marie had snuck up on him. Edd braced himself for a wrestling match, all of which he never won, but she stayed there, wrapping her arms around him a little more. "Scared ya." He tensed, still expecting to get punched or pinched or something of the sort, but she just heaved a sigh.

_What? _ Edd had trouble with things like this, but he was sure she seemed less, for lack of a better word, _enthusiastic_ today. She usually had fun tackling him and squeezing the life out of him before covering his face in red lipstick and running off. He always found it odd that she never kissed him on the mouth, like her sisters did to his friends. She never actually hurt him, either; he'd never gotten a bruise from her. Curious, Edd twisted around to look at her, but he couldn't see her face. Miffed and intrigued, he looked down at her hands. He cringed when he saw grease on them, but his distrust in dirt and other messy things had shrunk since middle school. This still bothered him, though, so he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and started to clean her right hand. She twitched, but didn't pull away, just watched as he started with her thumb and went over her hand with the small red cloth, cleaning the wrinkles on the knuckles of her fingers. He judiciously scrubbed the spaces in between, and laced his thin digits with hers to pull them away from her palm. He scrubbed from the top to the bottom, tongue squished between his split teeth in concentration. He didn't notice Marie smiling into his shoulder. When he finished the cracks in her wrist, he turned her hand over, twisted it this way and that, looking over his work. Satisfied, Edd reached for the other.

She swiftly plucked the hankie from him with her freshly clean fingers and pushed his hands away with the remaining dirty ones.

"But I haven't finished-." He stopped when he saw what she was doing. Marie folded the cloth so that the dirty side was hidden and cleaned her pale left hand, getting the dark grime out of every nook and corner. What made Edd smile was that she started with her thumb like he had, moving towards her pinky and finishing with her palm.

"Better?" she asked, tucking the kerchief into her pocket.

"Very much so, yes," he said quietly, folding his hands neatly into his lap. She frowned suddenly, motioned to his shirt, "Sorry about that, Double Dee." He looked down at the new black smudges on his red t-shirt. "Oh, it's quite alright," a small smile showed the space in his teeth, "it'll wash out." He brushed the back of his hand against the stain absent-mindedly. A few moments passed, Marie examining her hands with edd twitching in front of her.

"Marie?" he asked, suddenly nervous. He was afraid she might twist his arm around or something now that she was smiling. "What's up, oven mitt?" she moved so that her legs were on either side of him, sticking straight out with the toes of her dirty shoes pointed to the canopy. She still had her arms around him, and she loosened them so he could sit criss-cross again. "Well, you see," he began quietly, but before he could continue, she slid her hands up his front and leaned in, "What was that?" His cheeks turned a shade of red and he suppressed nervous laughter, biting down hard on his lip. "P-please, let me speak," he choked, forcing down the lump in his throat. He tried again, regaining his composure. "I was wondering if you were alright," he tried not to look at her as he spoke, "because you seemed rather melancholy before."

Edd stole a glance, and saw she was blinking at him, surprised. She shook her head and smirked, "I'm okay now, she muttered into his shoulder, "Thanks for that, by the way." He looked over at her and raised his eyebrows, poking himself in the chest, "What did I do?" She chuckled, "You cheered me up, genius."

Edd looked at her. Really looked, not in fear or consternation, but curiosity. He noted the freckles that sprinkled her small, slightly turned-up nose, and spread across her cheeks. She was pale, and they stuck out sharply, so much so that he could count them if he wanted to. Her eyes were a stark, pale blue, but they didn't match her hair. They were brighter, like the sky in the morning rimmed with black, which gave them depth. He noticed this with a twinge deep in his ribcage and stared for longer than he probably should have. He was interrupted when her bangs fell over her right eye, and he realized he had brushed them away. They both jumped and flushed.

Marie reached up and held his cheek as he stuttered an apology. She bit her lip and decided to push his hat ever so slowly up and away from his forehead. He fell silent. He considered stopping her, but he realized he didn't really want to. Her hand met rough skin on the right side of Edd's head. She shifted so that she could see it; a large scar running from his hairline to the crown of his skull. It was at least four inches long. _Badass_ was her first thought, but she knew better than to voice it. The scar looked uneven and gnarled, like he had been attacked. She took the hat all the way off his head and squeezed it. It must have caused him a lot of pain. Marie looked back at his face to see Edd looking down at his hands, folded in his lap. He had changed since middle school. His chin was more pronounced, and he had grown into his ears and nose. An adam's apple bobbed under his chin when he swallowed nervously, reaching up to tug at his collar. Marie ran her fingers through his thick black hair, which barely made it to his shoulders, but was long enough to slick back into his hat. Sometimes little tufts of it would make it out and brush against his eyebrows. She slid her hand over his brow towards the back of his head before putting the cap back over his scar, "Are _you_ okay?" He stared at her again, blinked, and gave an out-of-character smirk that surprised her, "I am now."

They both laughed at that, and caught themselves staring at each other for too long again. Neither of them felt the need to look away, though. Marie's throat burned. She leaned towards him and pushed her nose to his cheek, her eyelashes tickling him as she closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to make it go away, but only succeeding in shoving deeper into her chest. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

Edd felt a tingle on his hand as he blushed, and looked down to see a small tarantula crawling over his knuckles. "Oh my, look! An arachnid!" he said in a hushed voice edged with excitement. "You mean a spider?" Marie smirked; his vocabulary was funny. _Especially when he's jazzed about something, _she thought, her smirk becoming a smile. He let it crawl into his upturned palms and stood. Marie got up and leaned on his shoulder. They were about the same height, but Double Dee had an inch or two on her, which she resented just a little. He held his hands out to her, "Here, would you like to hold it?" She fiddled with the hem of her black tank top, "Uh, sure." Marie was a bit uneasy when it came to bugs, but as long as they didn't surprise her, she could hold it together. He guided the little prickly thing to her hands and she let it crawl over her fingers. Edd circled behind her and held his hands underneath hers as he explained in great detail why he found these types of creatures so fascinating. He stood right behind her, gesticulating wildly with his right hand and supporting her hands with his left. Marie noticed his hands were a lot bigger than hers. She tried to pay close attention to what he was saying, and she understood most of what would be considered gibberish to their other friends, but she found it difficult to concentrate with him so closely pressed to her back. She tried to ask questions, because the way he was so ecstatic about the little animal in her hands made it much more intriguing. Her interest seemed to make him even happier, and he enthusiastically answered all of them. After a few minutes, slowing down and finally falling silent, he held both hands under hers and put his chin on her shoulder. They both looked at the thing that took up half of her palm and swayed with the breeze. She remembered Double Dee cleaning her hand and smiled. _He's such a double dork_, she thought, _but he's awesome, too._ She tipped her head so that her bangs moved out of her eyes as she thought, still looking at the little bug. Well, Double Dee said they weren't true bugs, but whatever. It still looked like a bug to her.

Edd wasn't looking at the bug anymore, though, he'd started to count marie's freckles. He started to mutter when he got into the twenties, and she turned to look at him. He didn't stop counting, and he tipped his head to see the ones on her nose. Edd stopped when when she started to laugh. It was, he thought, the cutest thing he'd ever seen her do.

He kissed her before he really knew what he was doing. Their teeth clicked together in his haste, but he backed up a little after a second.

Marie's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Double Dee was kissing _her_! Like, with his _mouth_! She got over her initial shock when he started to suck her lower lip, and her eyes fluttered shut. The spider was forgotten, but their hands were still cupped, Edd's under Marie's. They parted after a minute, and Edd gave a shy smile. Marie bit her lip and smiled wider. She kissed _him_ this time.

Edd noticed she wasn't wearing any lipstick.


End file.
